21 Love Always Wins – Madalyn Drew

Madalyn Drew is originally from Nashville, Indiana, although she has lived in New York City for the past four years. Madalyn is an Honors Student at Indiana University East and will be graduating in May with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies, and a minor in International Studies.  Love Always Wins is an ethnographical study of the Black Lives Matter Movement that she completed when she took Cross-Cultural Communication as an Honors Option Credit in the Spring of 2021.  Madalyn’s professor Julee Rosser indicated her paper “was very timely and well-written. It demonstrates her commitment to cross-cultural studies.”

Love Always Wins

An Ethnographical Study of the Black Lives Matter Movement

In the summer of 2020, protests erupted across the United States as the Black Lives Matter movement was reinvigorated in response to the deaths of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and George Floyd (Cowling, 2021). Taylor, a 26-year-old Black medic, was shot eight times on March 13 by plain-clothes officers who raided her apartment with a “no-knock” warrant (Gottbrath, 2020). Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man, was fatally shot by Gregory McMichael and his son Travis McMichael while he was out for a run on February 23 (Griffith, 2020). Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, was murdered when a white police officer knelt on his neck for at least eight and a half minutes during an arrest (Hill et al., 2020). 

Black Lives Matter, a movement that started as a hashtag on social media in 2013, campaigns against violence and institutional racism directed towards Black people (Cowling, 2021). According to polls conducted last July, somewhere between 15 million and 26 million people in the United States participated in demonstrations related to George Floyd’s death during the summer of 2020 (Buchanan et al., 2020). Additionally, research shows that more than 40 percent of counties located across America held protests over the summer, with an average of 140 demonstrations happening daily (Buchanan et al., 2020). These figures, if accurate, would make last summer’s string of protests the largest social movement in American history (Buchanan et al., 2020).

It is worth noting that nearly 95 percent of the protests last summer occurred in counties where most of the population is white (Buchanan et al., 2020). This fact indicates that the movement was widespread and supported by many white Americans who had previously ignored the topic of systemic racism in the United States. At the time, this seemed to signify that the movement would inspire significant social and political change (Buchanan et al., 2020). Nearly one year later, many people have started to wonder if the movement has been gentrified (Logan, 2020).

To gain a deeper understanding of what the movement was like before it went mainstream last summer, I studied the 2017 documentary Whose Streets?. This film covers a string of riots that erupted in Ferguson, Missouri (August 2014), after the fatal shooting of Michael Brown, Jr. (History, 2014). Brown was an unarmed Black teenager who was shot six times by a white police officer, Darren Wilson (History, 2014). While witness accounts of the incident vary, some say he had his hands up and yelled to the officer, “Don’t shoot!” (History, 2014). The majority-Black community in Ferguson was immediately enraged by the death of the 18-year-old as it represented long-standing racial tensions between the community and the majority-white Ferguson police force (History, 2014).

Whose Streets?, directed by Sabaah Folayan and co-directed by Damon Davis, tells the story of the Ferguson riots from the point of view of “activists and leaders who live and breathe this movement for justice” (Whose Streets, 2020). While intense at times, the movie provides powerful and unfiltered insight into the realities of the Black Lives Matter movement. There are many similarities between the Ferguson uprisings as portrayed in this documentary and my experience with the Black Lives Matter protests last summer. By re-visiting these experiences through the lens of the documentary and other research I have conducted, I was able to gain a deeper understanding of the movement from the perspective of those who are regularly on the receiving end of racial injustices. Additionally, I was able to identify several key cultural differences between the experiences of white and Black Americans that I believe perpetuate controversies surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement.

When George Floyd was murdered, I was visiting my parents’ home in southcentral Indiana. I remember very clearly how heartbroken and sick I was when I saw the original footage of the incident. I also remember the fear that engulfed me when I saw the photos and videos of the riots in the media. I realized that when I watched the documentary, Whose Streets?, I had a very similar wave of emotions. However, there was one striking difference; a year ago, when I first learned about the movement, my emotions and focus were guided by egotistical motivations, whereas this year, my emotions were driven by empathy and a deep understanding of the struggles that Black people, Indigenous people, and people of color (BIPOC) face in America.

When I first learned about Black Lives Matter, it was hard not to feel personally attacked by the movement’s message. Phrases like “white silence is white consent” seemed to imply that anyone not actively posting on social media about the movement or running to join the protests supported racism (Capatides, 2020). Simultaneously, events like “Black-out Tuesday” highlighted the problems that can arise when allies try to help but do not fully understand the implications of their actions (Lerman, 2020). While this act intended to minimize “white silence” by having allies post black squares on their social media pages, the results of the action were counterproductive as it drowned out BIPOC activists and leaders and buried important information for mobilizing the movement (Lerman, 2020).

The book Intercultural Communication for Everyday Life pointed out that ethical civic engagement can only occur if changemakers are aware of the cultural implications of their work. The authors pointed out that the best way to uncover these implications is to seek and encourage the participation of the groups that they are trying to help (Baldwin et al., 2014). I knew that I cared about the movement and desperately wanted to help, but I quickly realized how uneducated I was about the racial injustices occurring in America. I also realized how deeply imperceptive I had been about my own privilege and racial identity.

In an effort to engage in ethical civic engagement, I decided that the best way I could contribute was by educating myself about the grievances of the BIPOC community. Although I did attend a couple of protests, I made sure that I was a participating observer and that my words and actions did not disrupt or detract from the event. I also spent a considerable amount of time reading and watching content from BIPOC activists and leaders. One of these videos was a TEDx Talk given by Dr. Caprice Hollins titled, “What white people can do to move race conversations forward.” The talk was given in December 2020 and aimed to address the unhealthy and unproductive ways that American’s address race, racism, and race relations (Hollins, 2020).

Caprice argued that the inability to discuss these challenging topics stems from cultural differences in how white children and children of color are raised (Hollins, 2020). She explained that many white people, like me, typically grow up in towns with little to no diversity and are often taught that racism is a thing of the past (Hollins, 2020). She continued that even those who grew up in diverse places typically report that race was not discussed during their childhood (Hollins, 2020). On the other hand, however, people of color tend to talk about race a lot during their childhood, as many parents of color feel the need to prepare their children for the experiences they are likely to face as they get older (Hollins, 2020).

The book Intercultural Communication for Everyday Life argues that rhetoric and culture are two concepts that are closely intertwined (Baldwin et al., 2014). According to the authors, distinctive rhetorical traditions emerge from different cultures, which can cause issues when they clash in situations that involve civic engagement (Baldwin et al., 2014). Successful civic engagement is mainly dependent on removing the barriers that arise from intercultural rhetoric and finding a middle ground where the communication is educational and persuasive (Baldwin et al., 2014). This concept was made apparent to me while I was watching the documentary, Whose Streets?. I realized that white people and people of color grow up hearing very different messages about resistance.

In the documentary, it was not uncommon to see children protest and be involved in the social movement. David Whitt, one of the co-founders of CopWatch, a network of activists that document police activity to identify misconduct and brutality, told the camera that he thought his youngest son would be “his little fighter” (Whose Streets, 2017). In another instance, at the end of the movie, an activist leader had her young daughter at a demonstration. The young girl was leading one of the chants commonly associated with the Black Lives Matter movement: “It is our duty to fight for our freedom. It is our duty to win. We must love and support each other. We have nothing to lose but our chains” (Whose Streets, 2017).

After applying this knowledge to my own experiences, it makes sense why I felt so uneducated and unprepared for the movement, especially when I compare my experiences to my peers. Those peers who identify as a person of color most likely grew up in an environment that regularly addressed the implication of race (Hollins, 2020). This culture tends to instill a strong sense of racial identity and teaches children from a young age about the implications of their race (Caprice, 2020). Meanwhile, those white peers that grew up in the city likely had several encounters in their early adulthood that enlightened them into the complexities of racial identity and systemic racism. Over the past year, I feel that I have come to understand the implications of my own racial identity and the privileges I have been awarded as a result of it. In accepting this, I have also come to appreciate the movement’s intention to make Black Lives Matter.

One thing that took me a very long time to understand is the violence that I often associated with the Black Lives Matter movement. Even when watching the documentary, I was taken aback during an opening scene that showed a clash between demonstrators and officers with K-9 units and guns. My parents raised me to see this type of situation as a recipe for disaster and to avoid it at all costs. When the activist who narrated this part of the documentary, David Whitt, saw this, however, he was impressed by how the crowd instilled fear into the police; describing the moment as “beautiful” and an “energy [that needs to be kept] alive” (Whose Streets, 2017). I have learned that it is not uncommon for heavily militarized protests (particularly those associated with the Black Lives Matter movement) to end in rioting and looting. I used to see this as a form of violence, and it was hard for me to support a movement that counters violence with violence.

After watching the film, I learned that demonstrators do not view this as violence. Instead, they see it as a strategic move to amass media attention and garner support for the movement. One article, titled ”Martin to Brown: How time and platform impact coverage of the Black Lives Matter movement,” described a “catch 22 relationship that advocacy movements have with the press” (Kilgo et al., 2019). According to the authors, peaceful protests are often overlooked by media outlets because they do not produce enough drama to be considered newsworthy (Kilgo et al., 2019). This silence often leads protestors to engage in dramatic and radical tactics to gain attention, but unfortunately, these tactics often reflect poorly on the social movement (Kilgo et al., 2019). Mainstream journalists tend to cover these types of actions in a way that dismisses and marginalizes the demands of the advocacy group by emphasizing their adverse actions (Kilgo et al., 2019).

One study conducted by The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) in September found that over 93 percent of Black Lives Matter protests that occurred last summer were peaceful (Mansoor, 2020). Of the more than 2,400 protests that happened, fewer than 220 reported “violent demonstrations” (Mansoor, 2020). ACLED defined the term “violence” as “acts targeting other individuals, property, businesses, other rioting groups, or armed actors” (Mansoor, 2020). Nevertheless, as someone who lived through the revitalization of the movement, most of the media I saw included acts of violence (as defined by ACLED). According to Times magazine, I am not the only one who felt like this. A poll conducted by Morning Consult at the end of 2020 found that 42 percent of respondents believe that “most protesters (associated with the BLM movement) are trying to incite violence or destroy property” (Mansoor, 2020). ACLED suggested that this belief stems from disparities in “political orientation and biased media framing,” which includes such issues as “disproportionate coverage of violent demonstrations” (Mansoor, 2020).

Whose Streets? was produced to expose this unfortunate cycle between advocacy groups and the press. The directors felt that the best way to expose this disparity was through a direct comparison of the media coverage of the riots and the inner workings of the demonstrators’ lives and minds. Watching this film and conducting research has helped me realize that many of my reservations about the movement were the direct result of my culture and childhood, which left me woefully unaware of racial issues in America. In realizing how my background affected my perception of the movement, I was able to remove my bias enough to learn about how other peoples’ culture affects their perception of the movement. As I move forward, I will keep in mind a quote from the documentary that I think captures the essence of the Black Lives Matter movement and represents a message that I can throw my total weight behind: “We don’t do this because we hate the police, we do this because we love each other. This movement was born out of love and love always wins” (Whose Streets, 2017).

References

Baldwin, J. R., González, A., R., M. C., & Shenoy-Packer, S. (2014).  Intercultural communication for everyday life. Wiley.

Buchanan, L., Bui, Q., & Patel, J. K. (2020, July 3). Black Lives Matter may be the largest movement in U.S. history. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/07/03/us/george-floyd-protests-crowd-size.html.

Capatides, C. (2020, June 3). White silence on social media: Why not saying anything is actually saying a lot. CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/white-silence-on-social-media-why-not-saying-anything-is-actually-saying-a-lot/.

Gottbrath, L.-W. (2020, December 31). In 2020, the Black Lives Matter movement shook the world. Al Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2020/12/31/2020-the-year-black-lives-matter-shook-the-world.

Griffith, J. (2020, June 5). Ahmaud Arbery shooting: A timeline of the case. NBCNews.com. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ahmaud-arbery-shooting-timeline-case-n1204306.

History. (2020, August 6). Michael Brown is killed by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. History.com. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/michael-brown-killed-by-police-ferguson-mo.

Hollins, C. (2021, March 11). What white people can do to move race conversations forward. TEDxSeattle. https://tedxseattle.com/talks/caprice-hollins-what-white-people-can-do-to-move-race-conversations-forward/.

Kilgo, D. K., Mourao, R. R., & Sylvie, G. (2019). Martin to Brown: How time and platform impact coverage of the Black Lives Matter movement. Journalism Practice, 13(4), 413–430. https://doi-org.proxyeast.uits.iu.edu/10.1080/17512786.2018.1507680

Lerman, R. (2020, June 2). Why some Black Lives Matter supporters are upset about those black squares on Instagram. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/06/02/black-out-tuesday-black-lives-matter-instagram/.

Logan, E. B. (2020, September 4). White people have gentrified Black Lives Matter. It’s a problem. MSN.com. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/white-people-have-gentrified-black-lives-matter-its-a-problem/ar-BB18HN5z.

Mansoor, S. (2020, September 5). 93% of Black Lives Matter protests have been peaceful: Report. Time. https://time.com/5886348/report-peaceful-protests/.

Oppel, R. A., Taylor, D. B., & Bogel-burroughs, N. (2020, May 30). What to know about Breonna Taylor’s death. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/article/breonna-taylor-police.html.

Turan, C. (2021, April 21). A timeline of the Black Lives Matter movement. Cosmopolitan. https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/reports/a32728194/black-lives-matter-timeline-movement/